UNESCO HIV and Health Education Clearinghouse

Systematic review and meta-analysis: prevalence of alcohol use among young people in eastern Africa

2014. 13 p.

Authors:

Francis, Joel M.

Grosskurth, Heiner

Changalucha, John

Kapiga, Saidi H.

Weiss, Helen A.

Periodical title:

Tropical Medicine and International Health, 19(4), 476-488

Description:

The study’s objective is the systematic review and meta-analysis of published studies of alcohol use among young people (age 15–24 years) in eastern Africa to estimate prevalence of alcohol use and determine the extent of use of standardised screening questionnaires in alcohol studies. Based on the review results, the authors draw the conclusion that alcohol use and problem drinking were common among diverse groups of young people in eastern Africa, indicating the urgent need for alcohol-focused interventions in this population. Few studies have used standardised alcohol screening questionnaires. The authors suggest that epidemiological research to investigate alcohol-focused interventions in young people should aim to apply such questionnaires that should be validated for use in this population.